To be honest the first time I watched Thor I wasn't that impressed. At the time it felt underwhelming. However my second viewing I liked it a whole lot better. Probably because I was prepared it was not going to be what I had expected it to be initially.
Thor is a comic book character I cam across when reading several Marvel comics but I wasn't that familiar with his origin and mythology. I remember a scene where Donald Blake transformed into Thor who to me seemed like he was meant to be the original Norse god. But of course Marvel's version of Thor is different. In this article you can read about few of those differences. Unfortunately Thor rushes through the origins of Thor, Odin and Loki and doesn't really establish that well what they and Asgard are about. It is implied that Odin and co are the protectors of the Nine Realms and that they have our back. With our I mean us humans on Earth. I personally would have liked to see more background on these characters, their mythology and how they are tied to Earth and other galaxies. But for what it's worth the lack of doesn't detract from the viewing experience since the focus lies on Thor becoming the hero we know him from the comic books. This is an origin story after all.
How can you make a god of thunder, lightning, storms, strength and other things interesting? By taking away his power and teaching him a lesson about humility and true strength. Odin (Anthony Hopkins) is forced to do so since Thor is far too arrogant and war hungry. Thor doesn't posses the knowledge and skills that are required to be the king of Asgard. Now while I am not a huge fan of plot elements like these it seems to really work for Thor. It provides the best moments in the film and will keep doing so since the feel good elements are high in those. Although I wished they had elaborated a little more on the powers of Odin and how he was able to do this.
Chris Hemsworth is very believable as Thor and at this point it would be hard to imagine another actor taking over. Even though this Thor film is meant to be more serious you can see hints of comedic talent Chris has. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is very good as the deceptive trickster. You just can't be sure where he stands. One minute he helps out Thor and the next he tries to kill him. I like Natalie Portman but can't say I was impressed with her performance. But it could very well be that it isn't her fault but the writing. Kat Dennings provides most of the comic relief in the same fashion as she did in 2 Broke Girls.Clark Gregg returns as Coulsen and he does as much as he can within the little time he has been given. Rene Russo is criminally underused. It's a travesty that she is barely in the film. She is Thor's mother. You would think that she would be more involved with her sons. The rest of the cast are decent and adequate but like many in this film they are nothing but glorified extra's. And that is a real shame since all of them deserve better.
Still I can't deny that Thor is a very entertaining film that does more right than wrong. Previously I thought that the sequel Thor: The Dark World was better. Now I am conflicted concerning since it is on par or maybe even better. But certainly worth your time if you haven't seen it before.
Check out my reviews of the other MCU films:
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